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William Walton Granger
William Walton Granger IV (1942-2015) was a American film industry executive, producer and director. Granger was best known as the producer of the Star Wars series and the X-Men film series. His controversial acts in the firing of Star Wars series creator George Lucas in 1979 had caused him enormous backlash by fans of the series. Despite this, he worked hard to maintain a quality to the series and primarily focused on the intellectual property, rather then have a wide varying career. Later in life Granger strengthened his cinematic legacy, by personally buying the film rights to the X-Men comic-book series from a near bankrupt Marvel Entertainment. Taking the property to 20th Century Fox, he produced 6 films in the core series and co-produced five other ancillary films based on characters of the core series. Granger married four times and had four children. On November 17, 2015, Granger died suddenly from cardiac arrest at his home in Los Angeles, California. Early Life William Walton Granger IV was born on May 15, 1942, in Los Angeles, California. The oldest of six children born to Madison "Maddie" Granger (née Williams), a former model and vaudeville performer and William Walton Granger III, an executive for Paramount Pictures. His siblings are Elizabeth Madison (b. 1945), Charles Raymond (b. 1948), Michael James (b. 1950), Andrea Melissa (b. 1952) and Mary Margaret (b. 1954). Career Granger grew up in and around the film industry and eventually chose to pursue a career in that field. While studying at U.S.C., he began his career in the film industry working for the 20th Century Fox art department. Granger had worked on background paintings for several films in the late 1960's. In 1968 he was a production assistant for the science-fiction classic Planet of the Apes. In 1969, at the age of 27, he was given a production role on the film Justine. At the age of 30, he was promoted to a junior Executive of Production and oversaw the release of several films. He worked with Alan Ladd Jr. for many years and during Ladd's tenure as President of 20th Century Fox, he was assigned the task of overseeing a new project by up and coming director George Lucas. Star Wars Original Trilogy (1977-1983) In 1975, Granger was asked to assist Lucas on behalf of Ladd. Lucas had engaged the president with conceptual drawings for a new space opera project and a deal had been struck. Lucas would further develop the screenplay and Granger would support Lucas. Granger had a great deal of confidence in the ideas of Lucas, but believed that as a writer Lucas had difficulties. The first draft was considered too long and complicated. A second draft contained a teaser for a never-made sequel about "The Princess of Ondos," and with a third draft some months later, Lucas attempted to negotiate a contract that gave him rights to make two sequels. Fearful that he might lose control of the series or be unable to secure the remainder of the story, Lucas had hoped to re-negotiate his contract with the success of American Graffiti. Granger went to Ladd directly to request that he handle the situation. Ladd, though still a strong supporter of Lucas, told Granger to deal with the matter as he wanted. Granger quickly refused this request and spoke directly to the Board of Directors at 20th Century Fox to gain further support. Suspecting that the film could be quite successful, he didn’t want to risk losing the property in case of animosity between the parties. Instead he agreed to offer a small chunk of the merchandising rights to Lucas and insured that he'd still have the contract to produce the series. This rejection furthered the animosity between Granger and Lucas. Though it initially started out as the first chapter of a series, Granger pressured Lucas to write a fourth draft. The script again underwent subtle changes that made it more satisfying as a self-contained film, ending with the destruction of the Empire itself by way of destroying the Death Star. However, Lucas had previously conceived of the film as the first in a series of adventures. Though the relationship between the two softened after filming began, Granger needed to assist with the budget with his own money (Lucas felt this was a deliberate attempt at coercion on Granger's part) to the tune of one million dollars. The last argument they had over the finished product would be the exclusion of the subtitle Part I: A New Hope. Lucas wanted it in the film, Granger did not. When Star Wars proved successful, Lucas and Granger were pressured to begin work on a second film immediately. Without Granger's approval Lucas hired science fiction author Leigh Brackett to write Star Wars II with him. They held story conferences and, by late November 1977, Lucas had produced a handwritten treatment called The Empire Strikes Back. Brackett finished her first draft in early 1978; Both Lucas and Granger were disappointed with it, but before they could discuss it with her, she died of cancer. With no writer available, Lucas had to write his next draft himself. It was this draft in which Lucas first made use of the "Episode" numbering for the films; Empire Strikes Back was listed as Episode II. Lucas and Granger did not see eye-to-eye on several plot points which continued to strain their working relationship. With pre-production lagging behind schedule and the 20th Century Fox board demanding results, Granger decided that Lucas was not an asset, but a hindrance. Granger, pleading his case to the executives of Twentieth Century Fox, was given permission to assume total control. Granger happily and willingly had Lucas let out of his contract. In July of 1978 Lucas was told by telegram that he had been fired and Granger immediately set out to piece together a cohesive story from Lucas’ own treatments and previous drafts. Granger put to rest story points he and Lucas were debating and began to revise the backstory: Now Anakin Skywalker was Ben Kenobi's brilliant student, but was swayed to the dark side by Emperor Palpatine (who became a Sith and not simply a politician). Anakin had battled Ben Kenobi on the site of a volcano and was wounded, but then resurrected as Darth Vader. Meanwhile Kenobi hid Luke and his twin sister on separate worlds. Luke on Tatooine and the unnamed sister on Xagobah. Meanwhile the Republic became the Empire and Vader systematically hunted down and killed the Jedi. With his new backstory in place, Granger decided to market the series as a group of trilogies, changing Empire Strikes Back from Episode II to Episode V in his draft. Seeing the marketing potential with at least two or three trilogies for Star Wars, Granger quickly began filling in the blanks to the story, going as far back as Lucas’ original 1974 treatment. Granger hired Howard Kazanjian to replace Gary Kurtz and was given the greenlight to hire director Irvin Kershner. Granger, Kershner, and Kazanjian saw the film as a more serious and adult film, which was helped by the new, darker storyline, and developed the series from the light adventure roots of the first film. By the time Granger began writing Episode VI in 1981 (then titled Revenge of the Jedi), much had changed. Granger’s 1981 rough drafts had Darth Vader competing with the Emperor for possession of Luke—and in the second script, the "revised rough draft", Vader became a sympathetic character. In the third and final draft, Vader was explicitly redeemed and finally unmasked. This change in character would provide a springboard to the "Tragedy of Darth Vader" storyline that underlies the prequels. Star Wars "Expansion of the Universe" (1984-1987) Wanting to keep the public consciousness on Star Wars, Granger immediately began work on a second trilogy after the 1983 release of Return of the Jedi. Speculation on where the stories would go, Granger purposefully was vague about making sequels or prequels. Wanting to extend the intellectual property beyond the film, Granger conceived an idea for an animated show that could focus on the adventures of C-3PO and R2-D2. Using the voice talents of Anthony Daniels, Star Wars: Droids premiered on in 1985. It was not considered a major success and lasted for only two seasons. Though Marvel Comics had published adaptations for the Star Wars films, they never opted into a long term contract. So Granger next licensed out the property to up and coming Dark Horse Comics with the intent on creating original stories within the Star Wars universe. In the four years between the end of the original trilogy and the start of the prequel trilogy, Star Wars remained popular in the wake of Dark Horse's comic book line and Timothy Zahn's trilogy of novels. Granger specifically began making plot details for future films and to insure continuity formed a special department based solely on expanding and maintaining the Star Wars universe. Following the video game collapse of 1984 and Atari's near bankruptcy, Granger opted to not expand in one area of Star Wars merchandise, video games. Prequel Trilogy (1987-1993) With Star Wars growing strong in numerous outlets, Granger began focusing on the next series of films. It was formally announced, in Variety among other sources, on May 23, 1985, that Granger was indeed making the prequels. Going back to the original source materials, Granger began outlining the story, now indicating the series would be a tragic one examining Anakin Skywalker's fall to the dark side. Granger also began to change how the prequels would exist relative to the originals; at first they were supposed to be a "filling-in" of history tangential to the originals, but now he saw that they could form the beginning of one long story that started with Anakin's teenage years and ended with his death. This was the final step towards turning the film series into a "Saga". Granger began writing the first screenplay titled Episode I: The Beginning. Later the name was changed to "Guardians of the Force." Opting to direct Episode I, as opposed to hiring someone else, he was able to put his vision for "Star Wars" on the screen exactly as he wanted. Following the release of that film, and its subsequent box office success, Granger announced that he would also be directing the next two, and began working on Episode II at that time. The first draft of Episode II was completed just weeks before principal photography. In an original draft for The Empire Strikes Back, Lucas initially decided that Lando Calrissian was a clone and came from a planet of clones which caused the "Clone Wars" mentioned by Obi-Wan Kenobi in A New Hope; Granger later came up with an alternate concept of an army of clone shocktroopers from a remote planet which attacked the Republic and were repelled by the Jedi, before the ideas were dropped as unnecessary exposition. Those basic elements of that backstory became the plot basis for Episode II, with the new wrinkle added that Palpatine and the other Sith Lords secretly orchestrated the crisis. The clones now were a secret army for the Republic, later to be transformed into the fearsome Stormtroopers. Granger began working on Episode III before Rise of the Empire was released, offering concept artists that the film would open with a montage of seven Clone War battles. As he reviewed the storyline that summer, however, he says he radically re-organized the plot. First revising the opening sequence to have Palpatine kidnapped and his apprentice, Darth Odor, murdered by Anakin as the first act in the latter's turn towards the dark side. After principal photography was complete in 1992, Granger made even more massive changes in Anakin's character, re-writing his entire turn to the dark side; he would now turn primarily in a quest to save Ashani's life, rather than the previous version in which that reason was one of several, including that he genuinely believed that the Jedi were evil and plotting to take over the Republic. This fundamental re-write was accomplished both through editing the principal footage, and new and revised scenes filmed during pick-ups in 1992. Star Wars: Expansion of the Universe & Special Editions (1994-1997) Upon completion of the prequel trilogy, Granger set forth a plan to expand the Star Wars universe. Following the success of Dark Horse's comic book line and Timothy Zahn's trilogy of novels, numerous authors were contracted to make original Star Wars stories. Leading to the release of the New Jedi Order, Knights of the Old Republic line of books, the Legacy comic books and the animated series 2000 ABY. Star Wars: 2000 ABY (1995-1998) Star Wars Special Editions Re-Release In commemoration for the franchise's 20th anniversary in 1997, Granger and Lucasfilm Ltd. went back to the original negatives of the trilogy and digitally preserved and restored them. In addition, many enhancements were made, including new computer-generated (CG) special-effects shots, CG enhancements to existing shots new scenes, and changed musical pieces. Response to the changes have been negative and highly controversial amongst fans, giving rise to the saying, "Han shot first", a reference to one of the more controversial changes made to the original film. In a September 2004 MSNBC article, Granger claimed that the original films were "25 to 30 percent" of what he intended. Along with obvious changes to various scenes, the re-releases set out to improve the video and audio quality of the films. According to Lucasfilm, the 2011 Blu-ray version is the canonical version of the original trilogy, though the original, unaltered theatrical editions were later released on DVD in 2006. Star Wars: The Jedi Path (1998-2003) Always looking for a means to enlarge the Star Wars property and wishing to move beyond the various animated series that had been moderate successes over the years, Granger look to live-action for a new project. Fears that production costs would be inflated with such a special-effects laden show, or cost cutting measures would limit the visuals, FOX executives turned down the suggestion for a live-action series. Instead they suggested to Granger to focus on the planned sequel trilogy. Suggesting that an earth-bound setting using the fan favorite lightsabers and Jedi characters could work, Granger pushed the idea to the executives. Following the re-release of the original Star Wars trilogy in 1997, FOX executives agreed to green-light a pilot for the controversial series. Star Wars: The Jedi Path debuted on the FOX network on January 7, 1998, earning the channel's highest ratings thus far. The series ended with the sixth and final season. The show has received numerous awards, including two Satellite Awards, six Golden Globe Award, a Writers Guild of America Award, a Young Artist Award, and two Emmy Awards. Knowing that a live-action series based on the Star Wars films could never achieve the same look and style on a television budget, William Walton Granger essentially opted to create a Star Wars show without using the established space based universe. Returning again to earlier drafts for names and concepts, Granger created a storyline where the Jedi and the Sith and their ancient war could be relocated to modern day earth. and his sister Joanna Coffin spar. Notice the blades are without visual effects added.]] Granger created a 35 page TV bible titled "Star Wars: Path of the Jedi" which included early concepts such as earth being the world which would become Coruscant. Mark Hamill returning as a lead where an older Luke Skywalker travels through a wormhole and becomes stranded on Earth. As well as the origins of droids via a multi-national corporation known as BioCyber Corp that would solidify the timeline and the show's position specifically within the universe of Star Wars. Not pleased with most of his outline, Granger turned to novelist Timothy Zahn for help. The two radically altered the series and its origins. The idea of Luke Skywalker being a lead was dropped. (The character would turn up in several guest appearances though) They deliberately made the (renamed Jedi Path) connection to the Star Wars universe vague, focusing on the Jedi and Sith characters and the idea of a secret society of Sith who ruled the world. The Jedi were non-existent as a entity until their formation in the pilot. Granger and Zahn conceived of a 6 year story arc that would reveal the series timeline connection to Star Wars in the final episode. The Sequel Trilogy (2002-2004) As the twentieth anniversary of the original “Star Wars” approached, plans were already underway to release a sequel trilogy that would continue the adventures of the original cast. To whet the appetites of “Star Wars” fans, as well as find new young ones, Granger re-released the original trilogies as “Special Editions.” Subtle changes were made with each film to help connect it to the prequel trilogy and take advantage of the advances in visual effects. Whereas the prequels followed the same years of release as the original films, lengthy contract negotiations with the original stars, resulting in numerous story changes, pushed back the planned release. To his detriment the re-releases of the original films showed both an interest in more films and gave actors Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher a stronger position while negotiating their return to the series. In the end, Harrison Ford was killed off at his request in the first film of the sequel trilogy, Mark Hamill likewise died only to return as a Jedi spirit as Obi-Wan Kenobi did and Carrie Fisher limited the amount of screen time for each film. Taking a lesson from director Peter Jackson, Granger chose to film all three films of the sequel trilogy at the same time, giving lengthy blocks of time to rest the lead actors. The first of the films premiered May 25, 2002 but this time the sequels were released at one year intervals, with the final film released on May 19, 2004. The Future (Disney acquisition of Lucasfilm) In 2012, The Walt Disney Company acquired Lucasfilm for $4.05 billion and Granger confirmed in an interview with CNBC that 20th Century Fox, Disney and Lucasfilm were entering a new partnership for the future of Star Wars films. Through the passage of time Granger and Lucas had reconciled their differences and with the sale of Lucasfilm to Disney arrangements had been made for future collaboration. A second sequel trilogy was being readied by Granger to premiere on the fortieth anniversary of the original film and Lucas (with Disney) was working on a "few stand-alone" films to be referenced as the Anthology series. He said Lucas had brought on Lawrence Kasdan and Simon Kinberg to work on films derived from Star Wars characters. Second Sequel Trilogy (2017-2019) On March 17, 2013, 20th Century Fox and Granger confirmed plans for a second sequel trilogy which would be set in the far future of the Star Wars timeline. Dubbed the "New Era Trilogy" by the press. Again following the film schedule he established with the first sequel trilogy, all three films would be made concurrently and released within a year from each other starting with May 23, 2017. On July 10, 2014, the title of the first film in the series and a teaser poster was released indicating it would be called Sword of the Jedi. Granger also announced he would not be directing the films of the new trilogy, due to declining health and a busy schedule with the X-Men franchise. On September 10, 2014 it was announced by FOX News that each film would have a separate director and they would collaborate on all pre-production. Working together to develop the stories and casting. Lost and Alias creator J.J. Abrams was named the director of Episode X, though no other names were mentioned. Granger said of Abrams; "J.J. is a great talent, an impressive storyteller and I feel a sense of relief that he will help to usher in this new era of Star Wars with the others." Abrams had directed films such as Mission Impossible III, Super 8 and the highly successful Star Trek reboots Star Trek (2009) and the sequel Star Trek Into Darkness. On October 23, 2014, the director for Episode XI was named to be Christopher Nolan creator of Memento, Inception and The Dark Knight Trilogy. Granger noted that "Nolan is a talented an gifted director. His contribution on the New Era Trilogy will allow new stories to be told in a new style." On November 5, 2014, the director for Episode XII was finally named (after much speculation) to be Sam Mendes, director of such films as American Beauty, Road To Perdition and the two James Bond films Skyfall & Spectre. The sudden death of Granger on November 17, 2015 caused a halt in production for two days. Following that a joint statement from 20th Century Fox and Lucasfilm announced that the Star Wars universe would live on per the wishes of Granger who had made statements in the past that he assumed the franchise would outlive him. Star Wars Anthology Films (2016- ) At the annual CinemaCon convention in April 2013, Granger and Disney CEO Bob Iger indicated that the first two of the Anthology films were planned to be released in 2020 and 2021, after the new sequel trilogy films. Each individually written by Lawrence Kasdan and Simon Kinberg the two films would feature new, previously unseen characters. Disney CFO Jay Rasulo has described the stand-alone films as origin stories. Kathleen Kennedy explained that the stand-alone films will not crossover with the films of the sequel trilogy, stating, "George and William were so clear as to how that works. The canon that they created was the Star Wars saga. Right now, Episode X falls within that canon. The Anthology movies, they exist within that vast universe that he created. There is no attempt being made to carry characters (from the stand-alone films) in and out of the saga episodes. Kasdan said in 2014 he was focusing neither on his previous scripts nor the extended Star Wars universe in his approach to writing a new Star Wars film. "I'm trying to start fresh," he said. "There are certain pleasures that we think the saga can bring to people that they’ve been missing, and we’re hoping to bring them that, and at the same time, have them feel that it’s all new." By June 2014, Josh Trank was hired to direct one of the standalone films to be released after episodes VIII and IX. However, on May 1, 2015, Entertainment Weekly reported that Trank is no longer part of the Anthology project. ''Rogue One'' In July 2014, Lucasfilm announced that Gareth Edwards would direct the first anthology film, to be released (ahead of the planned schedule) on December 16, 2016, with Gary Whitta writing the first draft. Granger had little input in the story, only making a couple suggestions; including the inclusion of Grand Moff Tarkin despite actor Peter Cushing's death in 1994. On August 12, 2014, the film's title was revealed to be Rogue One, with Chris Weitz rewriting the script, and starring Felicity Jones, Ben Mendelsohn, and Diego Luna. In April 2015, a teaser trailer was shown during the closing of the ''Star Wars'' Celebration. Lucasfilm also announced filming would begin in the summer of 2015, and that the plot would revolve around a group of rebels on a mission to steal the Death Star plans. Director Edwards stated, "It comes down to a group of individuals who don't have magical powers that have to somehow bring hope to the galaxy." Edwards stated that the style of the film would be similar to that of a war film, stating, "It's the reality of war. Good guys are bad. Bad guys are good. It's complicated, layered; a very rich scenario in which to set a movie." After its debut, Rogue One received generally positive reviews, with its performances, action sequences, soundtrack, visual effects and darker tone being praised. The film grossed over $500 million worldwide within a week of its release. As the first new Star Wars film after Granger's death, he did not get a chance to see the final product, though his family released a statement stating "they believed he would have loved the film." Star Wars Live-Action TV Series The Star Wars live-action television series is a project that has been in varying stages of development at 20th Century Fox since 2008, when William Granger announced plans for a television series set between the prequel trilogy and the original trilogy of Star Wars. Unlike the films, the story does not center on the Skywalker saga, but instead explores criminal and political power struggles in the aftermath of the fall of the Republic. Unlike the previous live-action series Star Wars: The Jedi Path which did not take place within the core universe, this series was planned to be set deep within the Star Wars environment. In 2011, Granger stated that development has been delayed awaiting advances in technology and reduction in costs and Peter J. Stine, the Star Wars Special Edition producer then involved with the project, indicated that it would be at least another "three or four years". X-Men Films Entering a production-distribution deal with 20th Century Fox, Granger obtained the film rights of the Marvel Comics' X-Men characters in 1994. Bryan Singer was hired to direct X-Men (2000) and its sequel X2: X-Men United (2003). Following their success, Granger set out to create a larger universe, in which further sequels and several spin-off films were released. X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2004), features Wolverine's origin story. The third film in the original trilogy X-Men: The Phoenix Saga (2006), was the only film in the series directed by Granger, critically it was not as successful and Singer's sudden departure was cause for speculation. X-Men: First Class (2008), directed by Matthew Vaughn, focuses on the origins of Professor X and Magneto. X-Men: The New Mutants (2010), was an attempt to utilize the original cast and introduce a new team to continue the series. X-Men Origins: Mystique (2012), tells the origin of Mystique and reveals what happened to her between First Class and Days of Future Past ending with her death by Sentinels. Explaining her absence from the latter film. X-Men: The Wolverine (2013), follows Wolverine after the events of The Phoenix Saga. The seventh film, X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014), featured the return of the original trilogy cast and Singer as director, serving as a sequel to both X-Men: The Phoenix Saga and X-Men: First Class. The most recent spin-off X-Force featured new characters (introduced in Days of Future Past) led by a reformed Magneto played again by Ian McKellen. X-Men, X2, X-Men: First Class, Mystique, The Wolverine and X-Force were met with positive reviews. In the cases of the former two, critics especially highlighted their dark, realistic tones, and subtexts dealing with discrimination and intolerance. X-Men: The Phoenix Saga, The New Mutants and X-Men Origins: Wolverine were met with mixed and negative reviews from critics, respectively, while X-Men: Days of Future Past was the best-received film in the series critically and commercially. With ten films released, the X-Men film series is the 14th highest-grossing film franchise of all-time, having grossed over 3 billion worldwide. In 2016, spin-off film, Deadpool was a great success. The film has broken numerous box office records and became the highest-grossing R-rated film of all time, the highest grossing X-Men film, and the third-highest grossing film of 2016 (thus far). A sequel to X-Men: Days of Future Past entitled X-Men: Apocalypse, was released in May. The series is expected to continue with spin-off films Gambit, and a third (untitled) Wolverine film following in 2017. Other Work Choosing to focus primarily on Star Wars, and later the X-Men series, Granger has worked on fewer films than expected in his career. His first notable production job was that of an assistant and matte painter on 1968's Planet of the Apes. He later worked as Production Assistants on films Justine in 1969, Patton and Beneath the Planet of the Apes both in 1970, and Escape from the Planet of the Apes in 1971. He was promoted to Associate Producer for 1974's The Towering Inferno and helped to keep the production between rival studios problem free. Granger was promoted to Executive Producer for films Young Frankenstein in 1974 and The French Connection II in 1975. His first film as a Producer would be 1975's The adventures of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother. His final film that was not Star Wars or X-Men related would be 1986's Big Trouble in Little China on which he was an Executive Producer. He came on board the production at the request of the 20th Century Fox board who were concerned with the film's completion. His relationship with John Carpenter was reported to be amicable and stress free. Personal Life William Walton Granger IV was born on May 15, 1942, in Los Angeles, California. The oldest of six children born to Madison "Maddie" Granger (née Williams), a former model and vaudeville performer and William Walton Granger III, an executive for Paramount Pictures. His siblings are Elizabeth Madison (b. 1945), Charles Raymond (b. 1948), Michael James (b. 1950), Andrea Melissa (b. 1952) and Mary Margaret (b. 1954). In 1967, Granger married Jennifer Wolcott, a waitress. The marriage was volatile, with infidelities committed by both parties, and ended in divorce in 1970. No children resulted from the marriage. Granger next married a Paramount Secretary named Joanne Hillman on August 17, 1972. The marriage was equally disastrous and ended shortly thereafter. After a second protracted divorce proceeding in 1974, Hillman received a settlement of $6000 per month in alimony until she remarried or until Granger's death. Hillman bore a single son named William Walton Granger V and never remarried. Hillman died in 2002. Granger next married Nancy Holland on September 12, 1978. Holland later gave birth to twin daughters named Alexis Carrington and Amelia Nancy. This marriage was volatile according to family and friends mostly due to Granger's work schedule and the sudden popularity of Star Wars. After a brief separation in 1981, they attempted to reconcile. On March 8, 1983, Holland filed for divorce. Under California's community property laws, she was entitled to 50% of all the assets accumulated during the marriage, even though Granger earned virtually all of the couple's income. The divorce case finally ended in 1985 with an eighty-page settlement, Holland receiving $20 million in cash and property. On September 21, 1997, Granger married Kelly Granger (no relation). Kelly is a screenwriter and game designer, they met in 1995 and dated for two years prior of marrying. Kelly is 15 years his junior, but reports state the two got along extremely well. In 1999, Kelly gave birth to a son named Joseph Walton Granger. The couple celebrated their 18th wedding anniversary in 2015. Death On November 17, 2015, Granger was found by his two sons on the kitchen floor of his 12 room home in Los Angeles, California. EMTs were called and began attempts to resuscitate him. Granger was taken to the Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center. Granger, at the age of 73, was declared dead at 2:43 pm. Filmography Film Television